Method of manufacturing an article of sport gear

ABSTRACT

A method of manufacturing an article of sport gear, the method comprising: providing a first component; making a second component by: (i) applying heat to expand polymeric microspheres each comprising a polymeric shell and a fluid encapsulated in the polymeric shell to produce a core of polymeric cellular material that comprises a first side and a second side opposite one another and a body of expanded polymeric microspheres; (ii) molding a covering onto the core of polymeric cellular material such that the covering covers at least part of the first side and at least part of the second side of the core of polymeric cellular material; and mounting the second component to the first component.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of and claims the benefit under 35 USC120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/473,189 filed on Mar. 29,2017, which is continuation of and claims the benefit under 35 USC 120of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/313,883 filed on Dec. 7, 2011,which claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 61/512,325 filed on Jul. 27, 2011, all of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to sport helmets for protecting heads of wearersengaged in various sports, such as hockey, lacrosse, and footballplayers.

BACKGROUND

Sport helmets are used in many sports, such as hockey, lacrosse andfootball, to name a few, for protecting their wearer's head.

For example, a hockey helmet for protecting a hockey player's headtypically comprises an outer shell providing strength and rigidity forimpact resistance and an inner pad contacting the hockey player's headand absorbing shocks when the hockey helmet is impacted (e.g., when thehockey helmet hits a board or an ice or other skating surface of ahockey rink or is struck by a puck or a hockey stick). To that end, theouter shell is made of rigid material such as hard plastic while theinner pad is made of shock-absorbing material such as polymeric foammounted (e.g., by an adhesive or fasteners) to the outer shell'sinternal side. Helmets for other sports, such as lacrosse or footballfor example, sometimes have similar constructions.

Impact resistance and shock absorbance of a sport helmet are crucial forproper protection of a wearer's head, while weight of the sport helmetis often important for comfort and/or performance of the wearer.

Although there have been advances in sport helmet designs, there remainsa need for improvements in sport helmets, including improvementsdirected to enhancing shock absorbance while reducing weight of sporthelmets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a sporthelmet for protecting a head of a wearer. The sport helmet comprises anouter shell comprising an internal side and an external side. The sporthelmet also comprises an inner pad mounted to the internal side of theouter shell for absorbing shocks when the sport helmet is impacted. Theinner pad comprises a core of polymeric cellular material and a coveringon the core of polymeric cellular material.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a sporthelmet for protecting a head of a wearer. The sport helmet comprises anouter shell comprising an internal side and an external side. The sporthelmet also comprises an inner pad mounted to the internal side of theouter shell for absorbing shocks when the sport helmet is impacted. Theinner pad comprises a core of polymeric cellular material comprisingexpanded polymeric microspheres. Each of the expanded polymericmicrospheres comprises a polymeric shell having been expanded by a fluidencapsulated in the polymeric shell. The inner pad also comprises acovering enveloping the core of polymeric cellular material.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a sporthelmet for protecting a head of a wearer. The sport helmet comprises anouter shell comprising an internal side and an external side. The outershell comprises a first outer shell member and a second outer shellmember that are movable relative to one another to adjust a size of thesport helmet. The sport helmet also comprises an inner pad mounted tothe internal side of the outer shell for absorbing shocks when the sporthelmet is impacted. The inner pad comprises a first pad member mountedto the first outer shell member. The first pad member comprises a firstcore of polymeric cellular material and a first covering on the firstcore of polymeric cellular material. The inner pad also comprises asecond pad member mounted to the second outer shell member. The secondpad member comprises a second core of polymeric cellular material and asecond covering on the second core of polymeric cellular material.

These and other aspects of the invention will now become apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the followingdescription of embodiments of the invention in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A detailed description of embodiments of the invention is providedherein below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of an example of a sport helmet inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a rear perspective view of the sport helmet;

FIG. 3 shows another rear perspective view of the sport helmet in whichan actuator of an adjustment mechanism is in a release position;

FIGS. 4 to 7 show side views of the sport helmet in which a size of thesport helmet is adjusted;

FIG. 8 shows a front perspective exploded view of the sport helmet;

FIG. 9 shows a rear perspective exploded view of the sport helmet;

FIG. 10 shows a side view of a pad member of an inner pad of the sporthelmet;

FIG. 11 shows a cross-sectional view of the sport helmet;

FIG. 12 shows a rear perspective exploded view of the sport helmet inwhich a covering of the inner pad is decorated;

FIG. 13 shows an example of a photograph of expanded polymericmicrospheres of a core of polymeric cellular material of the inner padof the sport helmet;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a head of a wearer of the sport helmet;and

FIG. 15 is a right side elevational view of the head of the wearer.

In the drawings, embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way ofexamples. It is to be expressly understood that the description anddrawings are only for the purpose of illustration and are an aid forunderstanding. They are not intended to be a definition of the limits ofthe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of a sport helmet 10 for protecting a headof a wearer in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In thisembodiment, the sport helmet 10 is a hockey helmet for protecting ahockey player's head.

The hockey helmet 10 covers various regions of the hockey player's head.As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the head of the hockey player comprises acrown region CR, a top region TR, left and right side regions LS, RS, aback region BR, and an occipital region OC. The crown region CR has afront part that substantially corresponds to the forehead and a top partthat substantially corresponds to the front top part of the head. Thecrown region CR generally corresponds to the frontal bone region of thehead. The left and right side regions LS, RS are approximately locatedabove the player's ears. The occipital region OC substantiallycorresponds to the region around and under the head's external occipitalprotuberance.

With additional reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, in this embodiment, thehockey helmet 10 comprises an outer shell 11 and an inner pad 15. Theouter shell 11 comprises an internal side 17 and an external side 19.The inner pad 15 is positioned on the internal side 17 of the outershell 11 such that, in use, the inner pad 15 is disposed between theouter shell 11 and the hockey player's head and absorb shocks when thehockey helmet 10 is impacted (e.g., when the hockey helmet 10 hits aboard or an ice or other skating surface of a hockey rink or is struckby a puck or a hockey stick).

The outer shell 11 provides strength and rigidity to the hockey helmet10. To that end, the outer shell 11 is made of rigid material. Forexample, in various embodiments, the outer shell 11 may be made ofthermoplastic material such as polyethylene, polyamide (nylon), orpolycarbonate, of thermosetting resin, or of any other suitablematerial. In this example of implementation, the outer shell 11comprises a plurality of ventilation holes 39 ₁-39 _(V) allowing air tocirculate around the player's head for added comfort.

In this embodiment, the outer shell 11 comprises a front outer shellmember 12 and a rear outer shell member 14 that are connected to oneanother. The front outer shell 12 comprises a top portion 21 for facingat least part of the top region TR of the player's head, a front portion23 for facing at least part of the crown region CR of the player's head,and left and right side portions 25, 27 extending rearwardly from thefront portion 23 for facing at least part of the left and right sideregions LS, RS of the player's head. The rear outer shell member 14comprises a top portion 29 for facing at least part of the top region TRof the player's head, a rear portion 31 for facing at least part of theback region BR and occipital region OR of the player's head, and leftand right side portions 33, 35 extending forwardly from the rear portion31 for facing at least part of the left and right side regions LS, RS ofthe player's head. In this case, each of the front and rear outer shellmembers 12, 14 defines respective ones of the ventilation holes 39 ₁-39_(V) of the outer shell 11.

With additional reference to FIGS. 3 to 7, in this embodiment, the frontouter shell member 12 and the rear outer shell member 14 are movablerelative to one another to adjust a size of the hockey helmet 10 to fitthe head of the hockey player. To that end, the hockey helmet 10comprises an adjustment mechanism 40 connected between the front outershell member 12 and the rear outer shell member 14 to enable adjustmentof the size of the hockey helmet 10 by moving the outer shell members12, 14 relative to one another in a direction generally parallel to alongitudinal axis of the hockey helmet 10. This is shown in FIGS. 4 to 7in which the rear outer shell member 14 is moved relative to the frontouter shell member 12 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 5from a first position, which is shown in FIG. 4 and which corresponds toa relatively small size of the helmet 10, to a second position, which isshown in FIG. 5 and which corresponds to an intermediate size of thehelmet 10, and to a third position, which is shown in FIG. 6 and whichcorresponds to a relatively large size of the helmet 10.

In this embodiment, the adjustment mechanism 40 comprises an actuator 41that can be pivoted by the hockey player between a locked position, inwhich the actuator 41 engages a locking part 51 of the front outer shellmember 12 and thereby locks the outer shell members 12, 14 relative toone another, and a release position, in which the actuator 41 isdisengaged from the locking part 51 of the front outer shell member 12and thereby permits the outer shell members 12, 14 to move relative toone another so as to adjust the size of the helmet 10. The adjustmentmechanism 40 may be implemented in various other ways in otherembodiments.

The inner pad 15 is mounted to the internal side 17 of the outer shell11. For example, in various embodiments, the inner pad 15 may be mountedto the internal side 17 of the outer shell 11 by an adhesive, stitches,fasteners (e.g., tacks, staples, rivets, etc.), or any other suitableattachment means. The inner pad 15 has a three-dimensional externalconfiguration that generally conforms to a three-dimensional internalconfiguration of the outer shell 11. As further discussed below, theinner pad 15 comprises shock-absorbing material to absorb shocks whenthe hockey helmet 10 is impacted.

In this embodiment, the inner pad 15 comprises a front left inner padmember 50 for contacting at least part of the crown region CR and leftside region LS of the player's head, a front right inner pad member 52for contacting at least part of the crown region CR and right sideregion LS of the player's head, a rear left inner pad member 54 forcontacting at least part of the back region BR and left side region LSof the player's head, a rear right inner pad member 56 for contacting atleast part of the back region CR and right side region LS of theplayer's head, and a top inner pad member 58 for contacting at leastpart of the top region TR and back region BR of the player's head. Thefront outer shell member 12 overlays the front left and right inner padmembers 50, 52 while the rear outer shell member 14 overlays the rearleft and right rear inner pad members 54, 56 and the top inner padmember 58.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the front left inner pad member 50comprises a core of polymeric cellular material 60 and a covering 62 onthe core of polymeric cellular material 60.

The core of polymeric cellular material 60 has a periphery 81 comprisingan outer side 82 facing outwardly (i.e., towards the outer shell 11), aninner side 86 facing inwardly (i.e., towards the hockey player's head),and a lateral side 84 between the outer side 82 and the inner side 86.The periphery 81 of the core of polymeric cellular material 60 definesthe three-dimensional external configuration of the inner pad 15.

The polymeric cellular material 60 is a polymeric material having acellular structure which forms a network of cells held together. Varioustypes of polymeric cellular material may be used in various embodiments.

For example, in this embodiment, the core of polymeric cellular material60 comprises a body of expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M).Each expanded polymeric microsphere 70 _(x) comprises a polymeric shell72 that has been expanded by a fluid encapsulated in an interior of thepolymeric shell 72. In this example of implementation, the polymericshell 72 of the expanded polymeric microsphere 70 _(x) is athermoplastic shell. The fluid encapsulated in the polymeric shell 72 ofthe expanded polymeric microsphere 70 _(x) is a liquid or gas (in thiscase a gas) which has been used to expand the microsphere 70 _(x) whenheated during manufacturing of the front left inner pad member 50, asfurther discussed below. More particularly, in this example ofimplementation, the expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M) areExpancel™ microspheres commercialized by Akzo Nobel. Various other typesof expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M) may be used in otherembodiments.

The body of expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M) is at least amain constituent of the core of polymeric cellular material 60. That is,the body of expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M) is a soleconstituent of the core of polymeric cellular material 60 or, if thecore of polymeric cellular material 60 is constituted of two or moreconstituents, is the main constituent. For example, in variousembodiments, the body of expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M)may represent at least 80%, in some cases at least 85%, in some cases atleast 90%, in some cases at least 95%, and in some cases 100% of thecore of polymeric cellular material 60 (by weight). In this embodiment,the body of expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M) representsabout 95% of the core of polymeric cellular material 60, and a colorpigment substance represents about 5% of the core of polymeric cellularmaterial 60.

The expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M) may have various sizesin various embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the expandedpolymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M) may have a size between 10 micronsand 25 microns before being expanded and a size between 20 microns and120 microns after being expanded. In other embodiments, the expandedpolymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M) may have any other suitable sizes.It is noted that in FIGS. 10 and 11 the size of the expanded polymericmicrospheres 70 ₁-70 _(M) is enlarged in order to schematicallyillustrate them and that the expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70_(M) are considerably smaller in reality. FIG. 13 shows an example of aphotography of expanded polymeric microspheres in an enlarged scale.

A density of the body of expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M)may have various values in various embodiments. For example, in someembodiments, the density of the body of expanded polymeric microspheres70 ₁-70 _(M) may be less than 0.04 g/cm³, in some cases no more 0.035g/cm³, and in some cases even less. For instance, in some embodiments,the density of the body of expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M)may be between 0.030 g/cm³ to 0.035 g/cm³. The density of the body ofexpanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M) may have any other suitablevalue in other embodiments.

In other embodiments, the polymeric cellular material 60 may compriseexpanded polypropylene (EPP) foam, expanded polyethylene (EPE) foam, orany other suitable polymeric foam material.

The covering 62 covers at least part of the core of polymeric cellularmaterial 60. This may help to retain integrity of the core of polymericcellular material 60. In particular, in this embodiment in which thecore of polymeric cellular material 60 comprises the body of expandedpolymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M), the covering 62 may help to enhancea resistance of the body of expanded polymeric microspheres 70 ₁-70 _(M)to chipping, crumbling or cracking in use.

In this embodiment, the covering 62 covers at least a majority of theperiphery 81 of the core of polymeric cellular material 60. Moreparticularly, in this example, the covering 62 covers at least amajority, in this case all, of the inner side 86 of the core ofpolymeric cellular material 60. Also, in this example, the covering 62covers at least a majority, in this case all, of the outer side 82 ofthe core of polymeric cellular material 60 and at least a majority, inthis case all, of the lateral side 84 of the core of polymeric cellularmaterial 60. Thus, in this example, the covering 62 envelopes the coreof polymeric cellular material 60. That is, the covering 62 completelyencloses the core of polymeric cellular material 60. This may help tomaximize an effect of the covering 62 in retaining integrity of the coreof polymeric cellular material 60.

The covering 62 may cover less than an entirety of the core of polymericcellular material 60 in other embodiments. For example, in otherembodiments, certain regions of the inner side 86 of the core ofpolymeric material 60 may not be covered by the covering 62 but mayrather be exposed. As another example, in other embodiments, thecovering 62 may not cover part or all of the outer side 82 of the coreof polymeric cellular material 60.

In this embodiment, the covering 62 comprises a fabric layer 75. Moreparticularly, in this example of implementation, the fabric layer 75 isa non-woven fabric layer. In other examples, the fabric layer 75 may bea woven fabric layer. The fabric layer 75 may be selected such that ithas a limited stretching ability to stay firmly on the core of polymericcellular material 60. For instance, in various embodiments, the fabriclayer 75 may comprise spandex, nylon, polyester, polypropylene, or anyother suitable fabric material.

More particularly, in this embodiment, the covering 62 comprises a firstcovering portion 78 ₁ covering the outer side 82 and part of the lateralside 84 of the core of polymeric cellular material 60 and a secondcovering portion 78 ₂ covering the inner side 86 and part of the lateralsurface 84 of the core of polymeric cellular material 60. The coveringportions 78 ₁, 78 ₂ are joined together at a seam 88 extending along thelateral 84 of the core of polymeric cellular material 60. Specifically,in this embodiment, the fabric layer 75 comprises a first fabric memberconstituting the first covering portion 78 ₁ and a second fabric memberconstituting the second covering portion 78 ₂ and these two fabricmembers are jointed together at the seam 88.

The covering 62 may be used to enhance an appearance of the front leftinner pad member 50. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, in someembodiments, the covering 62 may be decorated such that it displays adecoration 76 that includes an arrangement of two or more differentcolors. More particularly, in this embodiment, the decoration 76 is adecorative pattern 77 defined by the fabric layer 75. In this case, thedecorative pattern 77 includes lines in one color which are spaced apartby areas having another color and which cross other lines. Thedecorative pattern 77 may take on any other suitable configuration inother cases.

The decoration 76 displayed by the covering 62 may be various othertypes of decoration in other embodiments. For example, in someembodiments, the arrangement of colors of the decoration 76 displayed bythe covering 62 may represent colors and/or a logo of a sports team forwhich the hockey player plays.

The decoration 76 may be provided in various ways. For example, in thisembodiment, the decoration 76 is a sublimated decoration created using asublimation process on the fabric layer 75. The decoration 76 may becreated using any other suitable technique (e.g., painting, drawing,silkscreening, roller printing, pad printing, etc.) in otherembodiments.

The covering 62 is affixed to the core of polymeric material 60. Moreparticularly, in this embodiment, the covering 62 is bonded to the coreof polymeric cellular material 60 during a molding process used tomanufacture the front left inner pad member 50, as further discussedbelow.

The covering 62 may have any suitable thickness. For example, in someembodiments, the thickness of the covering 62 may be at least 0.05 mm,in some cases at least 0.1 mm, in some cases at least 0.2 mm, in somecases at least 0.3 mm, and in some cases more (e.g., 1 mm). The covering62 may be thinner than 0.05 mm in some cases.

The covering 62 may have any suitable strength properties. For instance,in some embodiments, the covering 62 may be such that it does not tearor otherwise fail when the hockey helmet 10 is tested to meet a standard(e.g., the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) cold impact resistancestandard).

The covering 62 may be implemented in various ways in other embodiments.For example, in other embodiments, the covering 62 may comprise two ormore stacked layers (e.g., the fabric layer 75, which may be used forresistance of the covering 62, and an additional fabric layer ornon-fabric layer stacked over the fabric layer 75, which may be used fordecoration, comfort, antibacterial protection, etc.). As anotherexample, in other embodiments, the covering 62 may comprise a coating ofa substance on the core of polymeric cellular material 60 (e.g., bydipping the core of polymeric cellular material 60 in the substance orotherwise applying the substance on the core of polymeric cellularmaterial 60 to form the coating).

In this embodiment, the front inner pad member 50 comprises a pluralityof ventilation holes 80 ₁, 80 ₂. In this case, the ventilation holes 80₁, 80 ₂ are aligned with respective ones of the ventilation holes 39₁-39 _(V) of the outer shell 11. Each ventilation hole 80 _(i) of thefront inner pad member 50 extends through the core of polymeric cellularmaterial 60 and is defined by an interior surface 89 of the core ofpolymeric cellular material 60 that is covered by the covering 62. Theventilation holes 80 ₁, 80 ₂ may have any suitable shape.

The front left inner pad member 50 may be manufactured in various ways.In this embodiment, the front left inner pad member 50 is a molded padmember in which the core of polymeric cellular material 60 is moldedinto shape and the covering 62 is molded onto the core of polymericcellular material 60.

More particularly, in this embodiment, the front left inner pad member50 is manufactured using a manufacturing process which comprises thefollowing steps:

-   Step 200: Pre-expansion of unexpanded microspheres. In this step, an    amount of unexpanded polymeric microspheres is heated to pre-expand    the microspheres, thereby producing pre-expanded microspheres. For    example, in this example, an amount of Expancel™ dry unexpanded    microspheres in a loose powder form is heated to pre-expand the    microspheres.-   Step 210: Molding of core of polymeric cellular material. A quantity    of the pre-expanded microspheres is placed into a mold for molding    the core of polymeric cellular material 60. Any other constituent of    the core of polymeric cellular material 60, such as the color    pigment substance in this case, may be placed into the mold with the    pre-expanded microspheres. Also, in some cases, an amount of    expanded microspheres (i.e., microspheres expanded to their final    size) may also be added into the mold.    -   The core of polymeric cellular material 60 is molded in the mold        by applying heat. The molding temperature may be higher than the        temperature used for the pre-expansion step. As part of the        molding process, the pre-expanded microspheres further expand        into their final size. The molding process may then include a        cold molding phase in which the temperature is lowered. The        temperature and pressure of the molding process cause bonding of        adjacent ones of the expanded microspheres.-   Step 220: Molding of covering onto core of polymeric cellular    material. The covering 62 is molded onto the core of polymeric    cellular material 60. In this embodiment, the covering 62 has been    prepared for its placement onto the core of polymeric cellular    material 60. More particularly, in this case, the first fabric    member and the second fabric member of the fabric layer 75, which    will respectively form the first covering portion 78 ₁ and the    second covering portion 78 ₂ of the covering 62, have been    previously prepared by cutting them from one or more sheets of    fabric. Also, in this case, these two fabric members have been    previously decorated with the decoration 76 using a prior    sublimation process.    -   The first fabric member and the second fabric member of the        fabric layer 75 are placed into a mold (which may be the same        mold as that used in step 210 or a different mold) with the core        of polymeric cellular material 60 positioned between them. In        this embodiment, a hot-melt adhesive film or another adhesive is        associated with each of the first fabric member and the second        fabric member of the fabric layer 75 to enhance bonding of the        fabric layer 75 to the core of polymeric cellular material 60.    -   The first fabric member and the second fabric member of the        fabric layer 75 are molded onto the core of polymeric cellular        material 60 in the mold by heating. The hot-melt adhesive film        or other adhesive associated with each of the first fabric        member and the second fabric member of the fabric layer 75        enhances bonding of the fabric layer 75 to the core of polymeric        cellular material 60. The seam 88 is created where the first        fabric member and the second fabric member of the fabric layer        75 meet. The molding process may then include a cold molding        phase in which the temperature is lowered.-   Step 230: Finishing of pad member. The core of polymeric cellular    material 60 with the covering 62 molded onto is removed from the    mold and finished. For example, in this embodiment, a trimming    operation may be performed to remove excess material from the first    fabric member and the second fabric member of the fabric layer 75    that extends beyond the core of polymeric cellular material 60.

The front left inner pad member 50 may be manufactured using variousother manufacturing techniques in other embodiments.

In this embodiment, each of the front right inner pad member 52, therear left inner pad member 54, the rear right inner pad member 56, andthe top inner pad member 58 is constructed and manufactured as describedabove in respect of the front left inner pad member 50. In particular,each of the pad members 52, 54, 56, 58 comprises a core of polymericcellular material like the core of polymeric cellular material 60 of thepad member 50 and a covering enveloping its core of polymeric cellularmaterial like the covering 62 of the pad member 50.

The inner pad 15 may provide greater shock absorbance while beinglighter than conventional foam pads (e.g., vinyl nitrile (VN) orexpanded polypropylene (EPP) foam pads) used in hockey helmets.

The inner pad 15 may be configured in various other ways in otherembodiments. For instance, in other embodiments, the inner pad 15 maycomprise any number of pad members (e.g.: two pad members such as onepad member that contacts at least part of the crown region CR, topregion TR, and left and right side regions LS, RS of the player's headand another pad member that contacts at least part of the back regionBR, top region TR, and left and right side regions LS, RS of theplayer's head; a single pad member that contacts at least part of thecrown region CR, top region TR, left and right side regions LS, RS, andback region BR of the player's head; etc.).

Although in embodiments considered above the sport helmet 10 is a hockeyhelmet for protecting the head of a hockey player, in other embodiments,a sport helmet constructed using principles described herein in respectof the sport helmet 10 may be another type of sport helmet forprotecting the head of a player of another type of contact sport(sometimes referred to as “full-contact sport” or “collision sport”) inwhich there are significant impact forces on the player due toplayer-to-player and/or player-to-object contact. For example, in oneembodiment, a sport helmet constructed using principles described hereinin respect of the sport helmet 10 may be a lacrosse helmet forprotecting the head of a lacrosse player. As another example, in oneembodiment, a sport helmet constructed using principles described hereinin respect of the sport helmet 10 may be a football helmet forprotecting the head of a football player.

To facilitate the description, any reference numeral designating anelement in one figure designates the same element if used in any otherfigures. In describing the embodiments, specific terminology wasresorted to for the sake of clarity but the invention is not intended tobe limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is understood thateach specific term comprises all equivalents.

Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are intended to be readtogether with the specification, and are to be considered a portion ofthe entire written description of this invention. As used in thepreceding description, the terms “horizontal”, “vertical”, “left”,“right”, “up”, “down” and the like, as well as adjectival and adverbialderivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally”, “rightwardly”, “upwardly”,“radially”, etc.), simply refer to the orientation of the illustratedstructure.

The above description of embodiments of the invention should not beinterpreted in a limiting manner since other variations, modificationsand refinements are possible within the spirit and scope of theinvention. The scope of the invention is defined in the appended claimsand their equivalents.

1. A method of manufacturing an article of sport gear, the method comprising: a) providing a first component; b) making a second component by: applying heat to expand polymeric microspheres each comprising a polymeric shell and a fluid encapsulated in the polymeric shell to produce a core of polymeric cellular material that comprises a first side and a second side opposite one another and a body of expanded polymeric microspheres; and molding a covering onto the core of polymeric cellular material such that the covering covers at least part of the first side and at least part of the second side of the core of polymeric cellular material; and c) mounting the second component to the first component.
 2. A method of manufacturing a component for an article of sport gear, the method comprising: a) molding a core of polymeric cellular material that comprises a first side and a second side opposite one another and a body of expanded polymeric microspheres by applying heat to expand polymeric microspheres each comprising a polymeric shell and a fluid encapsulated in the polymeric shell; and b) molding a covering onto the core of polymeric cellular material such that the covering covers at least part of the first side and at least part of the second side of the core of polymeric cellular material.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the core of polymeric cellular material is molded in a given mold and the covering is molded onto the core of polymeric cellular material in the given mold.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the core of polymeric cellular material is molded in a first mold and the covering is molded onto the core of polymeric cellular material in a second mold different from the first mold.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the covering is molded onto the core of polymeric cellular material after the core of polymeric cellular material is molded.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the covering is molded onto the core of polymeric cellular material by applying heat to the covering onto the core of polymeric cellular material.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein molding the core of polymeric cellular material comprises lowering a temperature.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein molding the covering on the core of polymeric cellular material comprises lowering a temperature. 